Global Big Day May 9th

On Saturday May 9th, eBird is hosting a Global Big Day for birders all around the world. The goal is to collect as many eBird checklists as possible in 24 hours. In last year’s Global Big Day a total of 92,284 checklists were submitted. Team eBird is hoping to surpass 100,000 checklists this year!

 

Since many of our activities needed to be canceled this Spring, the Global Big Day is a great opportunity for us to come together (virtually) and collect bird data as a replacement for the Williamsburg Bird Club’s annual Spring Bird Count. Everyone can participate and we’ll compile and publish the results from all of the checklists submitted between Williamsburg Bird Club members, Historic River Master Naturalists, and other community members who’d like to contribute. The event will work as follows:

1. Count birds at home or in your neighborhood following safe, social distancing guidelines. Count anytime, or multiple times, from midnight to midnight on Saturday May 9th. Multiple checklists are encouraged if you plan to spend several short periods of time watching birds throughout the day.
2. Create a checklist(s) using your personal eBird account.
3. Share your checklist(s) with the bird club’s eBird account. Our username is “W Bird Club”.

Instructions for creating an eBird account and sharing checklists will be forthcoming by e-mail for those who don’t have accounts or previous experience sharing checklists. If you’d rather not create an eBird account, then you can send your data to me (Jim Corliss), and I will create a checklist for you using the bird club’s account.

 

I will compile all of the checklists submitted May 9th and publish those results. We’re hoping we can collectively find at least 100 species, and also contribute at least 100 checklists to help eBird meet their 100,000 goal! The WBC will award a “special prize” to the individual or family who submits the most eBird checklists. Be sure also to upload photos of any interesting sightings when you submit your checklists so we can share those with other WBC and HRCVMN members.

Time participating in the Global Big Day is considered as VMN volunteer hours under Project C2b, Global Big Day / Spring Bird Count. More information about eBird’s Global Big Day can be found at the following web site.